Gary Medel's agent met up with Cardiff City chiefs yesterday to tell them he only wants to play for Inter Milan – according to reports in Italy.

The widespread reports suggest the two clubs have reached agreement on timing and method of payment but they are about £500,000 out on agreeing the price.

Tutto Mercato are reporting the two clubs are a lot closer on their fee than ever before, with the Serie A giants keen to get their squad sorted sooner rather than later.

GDS say Inter want the Chile World Cup defender to play in midfield, having already captured free agent Nemanja Vidic, from Manchester United, to anchor their defence.

With their other midfield target Valon Behrami, of Napoli, apparently heading for Hamburg, Inter's urgency to tie Medel up will increase today.

Having initially valued Medel at £7m + £2m of add-ons, after an initial season on loan, Inter are now expected to get closer to Cardiff's demands of £9m up front, following yesterday's showdown talks between Medel's representative Fernando Felicevich and Bluebirds bosses.

And as they chase down Manchester United's Javier Hernandez, having captured Osvaldo from Southampton yesterday, it appears the 18 times Italian champions are close to finalising their squad for the new season and Cardiff will hope this urgency and the possibility of Galatasaray coming in with another bid will drive up the price.

Medel does however look set to leave Cardiff City after being handed the squad number 19, with his number eight jersey being handed to new signing Kagisho Dikgacoi.